TV DRAMA: THE WEST WING

The West Wing (Season 1, Episode 1) is set at The White House, Washington DC. Leo McGarry (John Spencer) heads the staff whose professional and personal lives collide as they scramble to serve President Josian Bartlet (Martin Sheen). A Presidential bicycle mishap provides nothing more than a minor dustup. A Terrorist attack provides nothing less than a global crisis. The US endures because of - even in spite of - what happens in the White House offices called The West Wing. (Look below the picture for the media language that we will be drawing attention to.)

We continue this work on Tuesday next week.(Post Script: as some of you are out at an Art & Photography trip on Monday and others miss the last two days of the week for the New York trip, we will postpone the continuation of this until after half term.)

In class, we noted the following points:

1. The use of tracking shots as Leo musters his staff and gathers information, trouble-shooting as he walks through a series of offices. The effect is to emphasise how he is at the centre of all decisions and is very hands-on. He is briefed by many people and deals with each with easy authority. He is represented as fiercely confident. Secondly, the continuous tracking reflects how pressured and unrelenting the environment is at the centre of power.
2. The use of mid shots such as the way that Josh is framed asleep on his desk draws attention to the fact that working in the West Wing is a demanding job that can never be nine to five. The exhaustion on his sleeping face reflects his unquestioning dedication.
3. Establishing shots such as the opening shot...
4. Two shots such as.... 
5. The mise-en-scene includes many interiors of a variety of crowded, busy offices such as... 
6. Sound is important in this extract as the dialogue builds characters and delivers the narrative, such as dialogue in the form of conversation between....